CLOVIS, N.M. (KAMR/KCIT) — Continuing our trip to Cannon Air Force Base, the AC-130J has an array of features to assist members of the 17th Special Operations Squadron in their various missions.

We were able to tag along on one of their training missions for live fire and dry fire drills.

The 17th SOS routinely takes the AC-130J out for training, and for live fire drills, we headed out to the Melrose Air Force Range Training Area, about 25 miles west of the base.

The range is about 70,000 acres, and let me tell you, we had some fun out there!

Remember those big cannons we showed you in the last story?

We got to see them up close and in full action. The 105mm cannon is used for big hits and big noise, the other cannon is a 30mm cannon. A smaller caliber and rounds, but just as lethal.

Aircraft Commander Whitehead told us due to the dry conditions of the area that day, the rounds used in training that day weren’t live rounds.

For the dry fire drill, we made a quick trip to Amarillo.

This is another aspect of training for the 17th SOS, preparing for all kinds of combat scenarios. No rounds were fired in this part of the training, but the procedures and protocols were followed just like they would be in live combat.

We flew over a few Amarillo landmarks. The Big Texan, Cadillac Ranch, even Channel 4 studios, come to think of it, I think I see my car!

In this particular part of the drill, we go to see a lot more of the surveillance features of the AC-130J, but we couldn’t show everything because of national security concerns.

The state of the art technology on the AC-130J, gives these men and women everything they need to protect and serve their fellow servicemembers, as well as the country.